Comparison

Poetics vs Cosmic Brush

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Poetics

Create and explore unique visual poetry with mutable text, chance operations, and gestural controls. This app allows for nonlinear compositions, custom filters, and physics-based interactions, supporting multiple languages and voice input.

Highlights
  • Mutable text
  • Chance operations
  • Gestural semiotics
  • Physics-based interactions
  • Custom photo filters
  • Voice input
  • Multiple languages
Features
Read full description

Poetics is a visual poetry app focused on developing concepts of mutable, semiotic poetry and decentralized art. The app is an ongoing project by Seth Indigo Carnes, an artist based in New York City. Poetics is used in over 150 countries, across languages and cultures. Art features: • mutable text • chance operations • ephemeral missives • gestural semiotics • nonlinear flux • meta tangents • intermedia cutups • multimodal love App features: • works on all iOS devices • portrait and landscape compositions • curated set of font choices • always editable, saved work • custom photo filters • minimal text styling and color • physics-based interactions • nuanced gestural control • zoom in and out for detailed work • write in multiple languages • speak your words into app Music in App Store preview courtesy of Patrick Golden and Jim Clouse of Parkwest Records. Feedback or thoughts? hello@poetics.app Metta

About

Cosmic Brush

Unleash your creativity with a powerful digital art application. Explore unique painting tools, intuitive stroke size adjustments based on finger contact, and customizable parameters. Supports left-handed users and offers a universal Pro upgrade for expanded features across Apple devices.

Highlights
  • Unique painting tools (3D-Shaded, Halo, Plasma Chain)
  • Dynamic stroke size based on finger contact
  • Adjustable parameters during painting
  • Left-handed toolbar option
  • Universal Pro upgrade
  • Multiple layers
  • Photo tracing mode (Pro)
Features
Read full description

Paint a beautiful piece of art or just doodle on a photo. Only your imagination sets the limits for what you can create! • INSPIRING PAINTING TOOLS • Be as creative as you want with inspiring out-of-this-world painting tools like 3D-Shaded Brush, Halo Brush, Plasma Chain Brush, and Translucent Brush. It also has Lighten and Darken tools, a tremendous help when you want to add some depth and life to your drawings. • FINGERTIP = STROKE SIZE • When you paint, the app measures how much of your finger is touching the screen and changes the stroke size accordingly. Apply just the corner of your fingertip for a thin line, or the whole fingerprint area for a broad stroke. A 2nd tool assigned to your finger will still use this feature, so don’t ignore it just because you have an Apple Pencil! • LEFT-HANDED? • Just swipe the toolbar over to the other side! • PARAMETERS CAN BE CHANGED LIVE • Use any buttons or controls to change/adjust color, size, force, simultaneously while painting. • UNIVERSAL PURCHASE • If you choose to buy the Pro upgrade, this one-time in-app purchase will unlock all Pro features in the app on all available platforms (iPad-iPhone-Mac)! • METAL • The engine is based on Metal, with 128-bit color and floating-point arithmetic. • SWIFT • The app was developed entirely using Swift (earlier versions used C++). • APPLE PENCIL SUPPORT • FULL SCREEN PAINTING • • DARK MODE • LANDSCAPE • PORTRAIT • WIDE COLOR • • MULTIPLE LAYERS • PHOTO TRACING MODE (Pro feature) •

Screenshots

Poetics4 screens
Cosmic Brush4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Cosmic Brush at Free against Poetics's $2.99. Cosmic Brush also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.2) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 8 months). Poetics's advantage is chart position (#68 vs unranked). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Cosmic Brush is free to download; Poetics costs $2.99 up front. Poetics sells 12 one-off in-app purchases and Cosmic Brush sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cosmic Brush holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 68 and 132 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of Poetics's written reviews are positive against 88% of Cosmic Brush's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Poetics ships an update every 8 months, Cosmic Brush every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and August 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Poetics versus Cosmic Brush: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPoeticsCosmic Brush
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.2 (68 ratings)4.6 (132 ratings) — better
Positive reviews74.7% of reviews87.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings68132 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#68 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS14.712.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSoulincode Inc.Norbyte

Customer experience

Poetics

All ratings68 ratings
Positive82.4%
Neutral2.9%
Negative14.7%
Written reviews91 reviews
Positive74.7%
Neutral4.4%
Negative20.9%

Cosmic Brush

All ratings132 ratings
Positive88.6%
Neutral3.8%
Negative7.6%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%

Bugs and requests

Poetics

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • App crashes constantly
  • Freezes up with replace option
  • Saving in messenger is broken
  • Crashes when tapping text button
  • Crashes before sending postcard
Show 6 more
  • Crashes on specific photos
  • App doesn't open
  • Crashes losing all edits
  • Only crashes when sending postcard
  • Reduces photo resolution
  • Text blurry when using software background images

Requested features

23 requests
  • More fonts
  • Ability to type longer phrases
  • Add return key
  • Broader selection of type faces
  • Automatic text wrapping
Show 18 more
  • Resizing text to fit window
  • More features
  • Different font or text styles
  • Control aspect ratio
  • Control image size
  • iPad version
  • Square image support
  • More text box length and size options
  • Tint white backgrounds behind words
  • More fonts or layouts
  • Suggested text for when word-poor
  • Ability to string poems together in stanzas for email
  • Change font types
  • Use text without the 'label'
  • Rotate picture ability
  • Text takes on filter appearance
  • Make app compatible with iPads
  • Add more editing features

Cosmic Brush

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Poetics

One-time12
  • Whitman$0.99
  • Cage$0.99
  • Mallarmé$0.99
Show 9 more
  • Basquiat$0.99
  • Duchamp$0.99
  • Baskerville$0.99
  • Didot$0.99
  • Gill Sans$0.99
  • Avenir$0.99
  • Cochin$0.99
  • Filter Pack$5.99
  • Font Pack$5.99
6 purchases

Cosmic Brush

One-time6
  • Tip Jar: Smallest Tip$1.00
  • Tip Jar: Small Tip$2.00
  • Tip Jar: Medium Tip$5.00
Show 3 more
  • Pro Upgrade$6.00
  • Tip Jar: Big Tip$10.00
  • Tip Jar: Biggest Tip$25.00

Questions

Is Poetics free?
Poetics costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Cosmic Brush free?
Cosmic Brush is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Poetics or Cosmic Brush?
Cosmic Brush is rated higher. Poetics averages 4.2 out of 5 from 68 ratings, while Cosmic Brush averages 4.6 from 132 ratings.
Do Poetics or Cosmic Brush have ads?
Neither Poetics nor Cosmic Brush shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Poetics or Cosmic Brush?
Poetics ships an update every 8 months, and Cosmic Brush every 2 months. Most recently, Poetics was updated on September 28, 2026 and Cosmic Brush on August 20, 2026.

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